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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  August 21, 2009 9:00am-11:00am EDT

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betty nguyen. a plane crashes and explodes into flames, we have the latest on that story. also, a former reality tv star on the run and now wanted for murder? after the body of his ex-wife, a model is found stuffed in a suitcase. plus, comparing health care reform. we break down the differences in the house and senate plan. good morning, everybody on this friday, august 21st, i'm in for heidi collins today and you are in the "cnn newsroom." let's get started with this, jeanne meserve has the dish on a bomb shell. then we're going to take you to baghdad where we're we'll be talking about the latest and deadly attacks there. and christine romans joins us with the cash and clunkers program both time and money running out. but let's start with this. a stunning new charge from inside the bush white house. former homeland security chief tom ridge says bush
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administration members pressured him to raise the nation's terror alert level. and in a new memoir he says the pressure just before the 2004 presidential election. now, ridge says he objected to the arguments and the alert was not raised. ridge says that helped him to resign from his post and the bush administration deny the allegations. so why these allegations? and why now nearly five years later? well, as cnn homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve tells us, a former adviser denies the claim. >> reporter: fran townsend says it never came up, but in his book, tom ridge never says that it did. he writes that he listened to the arguments john ashcroft and donald rumsfeld made to raise the threat level and asked himself is this about security or politics? his take away, it was.
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townsend seeing it as an honest debate about the latest threat information. at the end of the day, the only people who really know whether these arguments were politically motivated are the people who made them. john ashcroft and donald rumsfeld. it is a bit of a surprise to hear ridge make these claims, he strikes one as the ultimate team player, but a lot has been said about his political ambitions. perhaps he wanted to create a little distance between himself and the white house or perhaps he wanted to speak his mind. his critics are suggesting he wants to sell some books. jeanne meserve, cnn, washington. so at the bottom of the hour, we'll have specific exerts from the memoir and look at specific comments during this time period. in the meantime, we want to turn to this. a bloody week in baghdad is leading to new security measures. wednesday was the worst day of violence with more than 100 people killed and 500 wounded in a series of attacks.
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cnn live from the capital. what is being done in this violence? >> reporter: well, betty, the iraqi government convened an emergency meeting on wednesday after the attacks took place saying they would have to implement increased security measures, things like check points, especially check points with explosive detection equipment at them. now, earlier, we traveled to the site of the largest attack on wednesday. that suicide truck bomber that exploded in front of iraq's foreign ministry. >> this is a crater that was left by the truck bomb. it's massive, about 3 meters deep, 10 to 15 meters wide. the truck came straight down this road and was not stopped at all by any of the iraqi security forces that are stationed here. there used to be a check point right there where everything
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single vehicle was searched, every single passenger's i.d. was checked, and more importantly, it had bomb detection equipment. that check point was recently removed part of the government's campaign of returning things to normal, reducing the number of check points, even removing baghdad's blast walls that protected against attacks like this. now the government is forced to reevaluate the entire security infrastructure and is saying that it's going to increase check points, especially those that have bomb detention equipment. a lot of the bodies that were found were unrecognizable, and so families have been coming through here repeatedly looking for any sign of their loved ones. the ministry may have been the main target, but located right next to it is this very poor residential neighborhood. and a number of homes here were utterly demolished and many are saying this should be declared a disaster zone.
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>> just explaining where his family was when the attack happened, and his two daughters were sleeping right here. the area, the mattress they were sleeping on is now covered in glass, this bookcase, obviously fell down on them. his 3-month-old baby was in the crib right here. somehow he says he managed to get his family out alive. a 4-month-old baby died in this house when the entire ceiling collapsed on him. his mother is wounded in the hospital, his father wasn't home at the time. and his father is too distraught to speak to us, even stand and look at the house, understandably so. the banner here basically says no to al qaeda, no to a return to the dark days of iraq's sectarian violence.
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it is hung on one of the many burnt out hulks of vehicles here along with plastic flowers, very much a sign of defiance. cnn, baghdad. residents who we spoke to in the area, betty are absolutely livid. they think that the iraqi security forces failed them. some went so far as to call the iraqi wars as lazy, incompetent, and unprofessional, and others were calling for the u.s. military to come back in. betty? >> arwa damon joining us live. we want to talk more about this. this week's attacks are not only calling into force, but whether they pulled out of the cities too soon. barbara starr joins us live from the pentagon. barba barbara, is this violence changing the strategy at all? >> even if the u.s. wanted to change its military strategy in iraq now, it has to get the agreement of the iraqi government of maliki. under that bilateral agreement
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signed between the two governments for any u.s. troops to be put back into a combat role on iraq's city streets, the iraqis would have to make the request. and it seems very problematic that maliki would do that because he would be confessing at this point to his own people that his security forces have failed. but top u.s. commanders say that wednesday's attacks that arwa just outlined that have had such a brutal impact on the civilian population that these attacks were a security lapse by the iraqis. that they need more training, they're very fragile, and they do need help. so it's a bit of a problem right now. there's a lot of frustration on the part of u.s. commanders that the iraqis let this happen essentially. that this terrible event was allowed to occur. a lot of talk about what they can do to help, but the bottom line is, if there's going to be real change, the iraqis have to ask for it.
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betty? >> barbara, we do thank you. well, time and money both running out on the cash for clunkers program. we're going to tell you when your last chance is to make a deal. and i'm jacqui jeras and your hurricane headquarters. hurricane bill still a very powerful category three storm as it gets closer towards the united states, the latest on the forecast. for arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers.. and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body... in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand of pain reliever.
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all right. so if you've been waiting to take advantage of the cash for clunkers program, you better get moving. the government says there's just enough money in the program to last until monday. cnn's christine romans has more now from new york. all right, christine, so this is a pretty sudden ending to the program. >> yeah, this thing is going to run out to the scrap yard, if you will for cash for clunkers by monday. you've got about 83 hours left to do something if we haven't done it already. a lot of the analysts say a lot of the demand for this program has already been fulfilled. 457,000 deals so far according to the government, almost $2 billion in claims as of thursday. and as we said, this thing is coming to a close. the dealers, the dealers' association has been warning dealers that, look, we've got a
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few days left of this really until monday, they're suggesting that maybe dealers who concentrate on getting the paperwork done on deals they've already signed and make sure they get paid, because there have been some complaints that they have not been paid in the 10 days like they were supposed to by the government. and the department of transportation says they will honor everybody. but ray lahood says it's been a thrill to work on what he calls the best economic news story in america. this was supposed to be a short-term stimulus and, indeed, 457,000 cars pushed through, turned outs to be as you know much more popular than people thought. should you rush out and get this done this weekend? well, if you can afford it and got the clunker, the inefficient clunker and need a new car, a lot of the personal fence editors are saying, yes, but only if you can afford it. edmonds.com saying they expect a flurry of activity this weekend. but some dealers, i want to point out some dealers said
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they're not going to do anymore new deals. >> some are going to wrap it up on sunday to finish paperwork on monday. on the onset, seems like it's been a boom for the economy. do you think that'll hold true? >> the question is where do we go from here? have you seen this pent up demand that's now been spent in the dealership and then you see car sales decline again or continue to kind of limp along for the rest of the year. the other question that some economists are now starting to ask is will the demand for cash for clunkers actually dent sales for other things for back to school and all the way into christmas because now you've got all of these people thousands and thousands of people who now have a car payment they didn't have before, right? so if you're paying this car payment, are you going to be pulling back somewhere else? we have to see how sustainable this jolt to the economy it is. some economists have said, betty, it'll be a sugar rush for the economy but it'll ware off after that. >> the question is, what happens now. thank you so much for that. many cash for clunkers
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customers have been saying they've been trying to get organized so they can get to the car lot. >> i've been trying for a while, and i had lost our registration, had to apply for a new registration and finally it came through and as soon as it did, we're right down here. >> we were hoping it lasted until labor day, honestly. but we all had the feeling that the $3 billion was going to run out. >> some dealerships say they'll stop offering the program on sunday as i mentioned so they'll have enough time to complete the paperwork by the monday deadline. if you want to take advantage, you might want to hurry. we want to know what you think of this program. go to our blogs either cnn.com/highdy or cnn.com/betty. or you can find me on facebook and twitter and share your thoughts. because we are going to be reading them on air a little bit later this morning. i want to tell you about this, a small engine plane crashes in new jersey and the two men on board were able to walk away.
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state police the plane went down while trying to land overnight and burst into flames. well, here is the amazing part of the story. authorities say two men actually crawled out of the wreckage and were sitting at a nearby bus stop when police got there. they were apparently in a daze and didn't really know what had happened. >> well, we were kind of shocked by this. it's not often -- >> i pulled the wreckage and they both said we were in the plane, i was a little taken back. how did you walk away from this? at this point, they were just more confused than anything. are okay? they said, i need water, i'm thirsty. and i tried to get a story from them, but they were both in shock and didn't realize. >> if he was taken back, imagine how the survivors felt. both men are being treated for burns.
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let's get you the latest now on the weather outside this weekend. not exactly a day to head to the beach for some folks, huh? >> no, it's not. and this is really all up and down the eastern sea board, too, betty. and the threat of rip currents is very high and it's all due to hurricane bill. but you don't want to complain about not going to the beach this weekend because you could be dealing with a hurricane and so the showers and thundershowers rip current threat. here's where bill is now and the latest on the statistics here, a powerful category three storm. we're starting to see a little bit more of that pull up to the north. we're expecting it to take that turn and stay away from the united states mainland. but we are going to feel those im% pacts as the wave action is going to be extremely high. there you can see the threat of the dangerous, the high surf advisory across the carolina beaches right now and down into north florida along jacksonville. we're going to see those waves come on up and as they break on
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through sand bar, they create that fast channel of moving water. more coming up on rip currents about half an hour from now. if you don't know what they are, we'll have more details on that coming up shortly. here's the latest forecast track coming up on bill. a little bit of strengthening, it's still possible, but seeing a little bit of southwesterly sheer. winds coming in from this way, breaking down bill a little bit as well as drier air trying to make its way in. possible here in the canadian maritimes late sunday into early monday morning and that closest approach to the u.s. towards the cape is going to be late on sunday night, as well. so we'll continue to watch that as it tracks and takes that turn on up to the north. our other big weather story for here today is going to be the showers and thundershowers moving into the northeastern corridor. right now just moderate rain showers expected, but we could see severe weather later on this afternoon and into the evening hours and cooler air coming in
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behind the system. if you're trying to travel today, we do have a lot of delays at the airport as a result of that. we've got over an hour here in minneapolis, dallas-ft. worth because of thunderstorms, and houston, you've got the delays to go along with the heat today, but watch for the delays to move into the northeast later on this afternoon, betty? >> all right, jacqui, thank you. so the battle for health care reform, what's really in bills under consideration in the house and the senate? we'll take a look at the plans side by side.
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health care reform, back on the president's agenda today, and this morning, he meets with tom daschle. now the president has called him
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one of america's foremost health care experts. cnn's kate bolduan live from the white house. and the administration is appealing to both the left and the right, but is it working? >> reporter: that is a good question, betty. you can see from the white house's perspective, the president and the white house, they are trying, working to regain momentum in this debate. statement, the president is preparing to leave for vacation a little later this afternoon after he does have that meeting with former senate majority leader tom daschle on, of course, you can guess it talking about health care. but yesterday, take a look at yesterday, betty, a perfect example of the fine line that the president, that this administration is trying to walk, trying to appeal to both sides to really keep a coherent message out there. appealing to liberal supporters at a democratic national convention event yesterday afternoon and before that, really taking his message to conservatives. speaking to -- making an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, live at the white house. the host, he did throw his
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support behind the president during the campaign season. and speaking of the campaign, if you really look at most, if not all of the president's appearances of late it appears he himself is back on the campaign trail. he says the president that says he's trying to get out there. he's working, trying to combat what he calls misinformation and noise that is out there confusing the debate surrounding health care reform. some of those issues are claims of health care and how it relates to illegal immigrants, as well as the much talked about claim of death panels we've heard so much about. what about this big question of a bipartisan solution that they are trying to work towards? well, take a listen here to the president himself where he seems to signal that the president, the white house, and democrats may have to go it alone. >> i would love to have more republicans engaged and involved in this process. i think early on, a decision was made by the republican leadership that said, look,
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let's not give them a victory, maybe we can have a replay of 1993 and 1994 when clinton came in, failed on health care and then we won in the midterm elections and got the majority. >> republican leaders are pushing back on that. a spokesman for congressman eric cantor saying we would love to know when exactly time, date, place, the president or his staff reached out to republican leaders. so continues to be a long road ahead, it seems, betty. >> what about the so-called gang of six? are those still continuing? >> it seems they are. last night there was a conference call, a bipartisan group on the senate finance committee and during this conference call while they're away on this august break, they say the negotiations are continuing, resuming the talks afterwards. the chairman released a statement saying it was a productive conversation, also saying this group is committed to continuing our path toward a
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bipartisan health care reform bill. so they're continuing to work, as well. >> kate bolduan, thank you, kate. so far no health care measure has been debated in the full house or senate. they're still taking shaping committees. i want to give you a quick comparison of the legislation that is being considered. under a proposed house bill, consumers could choose among an array of health insurance plans, including the public option or government-run programs. now the plan would mandate legal residents to obtain health insurance. it requires companies to provide health coverage for workers or pay into a federal fund to provide health coverage. now, some companies with small payrolls could be exempt. let's take you to the senate. a bipartisan group is considering a bill that is expected to include this. no government-run option. but may include proposals for private, non-profit co-ops, where individuals without coverage could join. the bill is not expected to include mandates, but a penalty
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for businesses that do not offer coverage. so that is a quick break down for you. and this story, health officials, they are predicting an explosion, yes an explosion of swine flu cases in the coming months. the world health organization says most countries could see the number of infections double every three to four days for several months until the outbreak reaches its peak. officials are urging governments to waste no time on educating the public on how to limit the spread of the virus and preparing health care systems to handle severe cases. well, his decision has outraged many. the man who freed the lockerbie bomber talks about why he chose to let the convicted man go. (voice 1) traffic's off the chart... (voice 2) they're pinging more targets... (voice 3) isolate... prevent damage... (voice 2) got 'em. (voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again.
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(voice 3) i hope he has that insurance. aflac! you really need it these days. how come? well if you're hurt and can't work it pays you cash... yeah to help with everyday bills like gas, the mortgage... ...and groceries. it's like insurance for daily living. so...what's it called? uhhhhh aflaaac!!!! oh yeah! that's it! aflac. we've got you under our wing. a-a-a-aflaaac!
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there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. all right. let's take a look. stocks they kick off the week with a big selloff, but have been climbing ever since. so can the dow today make win
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number four? that's a good question. susan lisovicz at the new york stock exchange with a preview of the trading day, which is about to start officially in about ten seconds. there, well, right now. there's the bell. hey, susan. >> good morning, betty. we're expecting a modestly higher open due to more optimism about the economy. existing home sales, the broadest part of the housing market due out at the top of the hour. they're expected to rise more than 2% in july. it would mark the fourth straight increase and strength in the belief that the economy is stabilizing. another sign that the economy is stabilizing, morgan stanley is hiring. the "wall street journal" says the company is looking to add as many as 400 trading and sales positions. part of a plan to revive profits and fix income and emerging markets divisions. while ben bernanke and company has said the economy is leveling out. today investors await more comments on that subject. the chairman of the federal reserve is delivering a speech
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entitled reflections in a year of crisis at an annual fed conference in wyoming. other than the retro spective he could give clues on how the central bank will wind down the massive stimulus efforts, the so-called exit strategy. check on numbers, three major averages up .5%. and finally, betty, a historical day here at the nyse. for the first time in 217 years, traders are allowed to wear blue jeans. gap has outfitted every trader with its 1969 premium jean today in honor of its 40th anniversary. >> talk about advertisement right there. you have blue jeans on? >> i am wearing my own. >> you're wearing jeans, though? >> it's this special day. this is a culture, the new york stock exchange has never ever embraced casual workday. and so this is a one and only.
quote
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and, yes, i kind of -- >> can we pan down and see your jeans? >> i'm going to be on the floor later. >> i wish i would have known, i would have worn jeans too. you've got to tell me these things, susan. well, this is quote deeply depre destressing, that's how they explain the embrace of megrahi. he was greeted, in fact, by a cheering crowd upon his arrival home late yesterday. look at all of those people. he had been released hours earlier from a scottish prison and cnn's richard roth with that decision and the reaction. >> it is my decision that mr. abdelbaset ali mohmed megrahi.
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>> the release of the terrorist who killed their son. >> terminally ill with prostate cancer be being released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to libya to die. >> i think it's totally, totally wrong, no matter if he only has three months to live or even a month to live. he should not be released because he killed these people deliberately. >> to take a man who has done this heinous crime and let him go back home to his country to a hero's welcome. and whether he has two weeks, three months, or 20 years to live is irrelevant. >> reporter: the flynns were part of a group of american families that spoke by video conference with the scottish minister who was deciding whether to free megrahi, they believed that there was no way the prisoner was ever going to see the light of day. >> out of the blue comes this? makes no sense to me.
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it's very discouraging, and very immoral, really to let this happen. >> reporter: the flynns went to the trial and listened to the evidence. they firmly believe al megrahi is a mass murderer. hours after watching him speak, his plane headed into the same scottish skies of pan am flight 103 was blown out of on december 21, 1988. >> i think it's absolutely horrible. when you think of 270 people died. and the sorrow we have gone through and the horror we have gone through, and now one man decides to release him. okay, one man makes this decision. okay, he overrules the judges who said he was guilty and should serve his time in prison. okay, this man should not have that kind of an authority. he should not. it's horrible. >> reporter: richard roth, cnn, new york. >> well, the man who made the decision to free him said he did so based on the medical
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evidence. here's more of what he told wolf blitzer in the situation room. >> many will disagree, many do agree. i took the opinion of the families, but my responsibility was to make that decision and i did so on the basis in scotland we want justice done, but we want compassion possessed and capable of being shown. two wrongs never make a right. i look to the evidence, and i was persuaded that he is a dying man and it was my decision and my decision alone based upon following the rules and regulations and laws we have in scotland and i believe standing by values of humanity that we possess as a people, i believe he's been brought to account of the heinous atrocity, and yet, we are prepared to show mercy to his family even though he did not show that to others or indeed to any family, american, spanish, or english.
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>> he is 51 years old, a former partner at a law firm, macatskill tried four times to win a seat in the parliament, he became a member of the scottish parliame parliament. he is married with two sons and avid fan of football, what americans call soccer. there's been a stunning new claim about the bush white house and it comes from someone within the inner circle. he saying others tried to pressure him to raise the terrorist alert two days before the election. i want to get the latest from ed henry. >> reporter: the friday before the 2004 election, only two or three points separated john kerry from president bush. suddenly, a twist. osama bin laden released a shocking new videotape, and it
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played nonstop on the arab network. >> translator: your security is not in the hands of kerry or bush or al qaeda. your security is in your own hands. >> reporter: the next morning, just 72 hours before the polls opened, the president's top security advisers, including donald rumsfeld and john ashcroft huddled for an urgent meeting to decide whether to raise the color-coated threat level from red to orange. and then tom ridge reveals in an explosive new book, a vigorous, some might say dramatic discussion ensued. some suggested the increase in the threat level and was supported by rumsfeld. he goes on, there was absolutely no support for that position within our department, none. i wondered, is this about security or politics? post election analysis demonstrated a significant increase in the president's approval ratings in the days after the raising of the threat
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level. the bush campaign was already pushing the envelope on frightening voters. listen to then vice president cheney just ten days before the bin laden tape. >> the ultimate threat is the possibility of their succeeding and get a nuclear weapon, smuggling it into the united states, into one of our own cities and raising the specter of being able to kill hundreds of thousands of americans. >> reporter: in the summer of 2004, just a few days after the democratic national convention, the white house had raised the threat level. john charges of political intimidation. >> we don't do politic in the department of homeland security. >> reporter: but now the weekend before the election, ridge writes that it "seemed possible to me and to others around the table that something could be afoot other than simple concern about the country's safety. in the end, however, the threat level was not raised."
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after ridge claims he pulled others back from the brink. but he says it left him disillusioned. he tendered his resignation within a month of the election. he concluded, i considered that episode to be not only a dramatic moment in washington's recent history, but another illustration of the intersection of politics, fear, credibility, and security. but other bush officials in the meeting, including fran townsend insist ridge is wrong. saying politics was never sku s discussed at the meeting. cnn, the white house. >> well, even though all the votes haven't been counted in afghanistan, the top challengers in the presidential race both see victory. campaign teams for karzai and his chief opponent abdullah-abdullah position themselves as winners. preliminary results won't be
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made public before tuesday. millions of afghans, both men and women braved attacks to cast their ballots. ivan watson was in a central province. >> reporter: women also showed up at the polls vastly outnumbered by the men. some of them enthusiastically repeating the names of presidential candidates. the only woman who holds such a position in afghanistan says women still have a long way to go before they win equal rights in afghan society. >> and the problem that many women in the village of remoted area, they don't know about their rights. this is something to be concerned about. >> well, afghan election officials say 26 people were killed in sporadic violence around the country during the voting. a real life drama for a reality television show contestant. this guy you're about to see, the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-wife who you see right
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all right. we are getting some new video. wow, look at this, in to cnn. we're all watching this for the first time. but look at that tornado right there in the background. this looks like a massive thing. oh, my goodness, hit some kind of a building there. you see debris flying everywhere. and you saw a little bit of a flash there maybe even hit one of those electric lines. let's get jacqui jeras live up with us right now. boy, that is some powerful video coming to us out of ontario, canada of a tornado there. >> there were three of them reporting across the area, in that particular video.
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let's go ahead and look at it again, this is from the durham area, it was caught on tape. you can see the rotation in the clouds, the debris flying, there were a lot of homes damaged with these tornadoes, at least 100 of them in the vaughn area, cars were flipped over, and at least one person has been killed, three other people were injured. you don't get tornadoes up in these parts all that often. so it really, really extreme weather event taking place in ontario just outside of the toronto area. yesterday afternoon. now, today here in the united states, we're dealing with hurricane bill, and we're feeling the effects of this storm already. starting to get some large swells and some big waves up and down the eastern sea board. this is going to be impacting your weekend. if you think you're going to the beach, even though we think bill is going to curve away from the u.s., this is a category three storm and believe it or not the waves that are being reported in
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the -- near the middle of this storm are as much as 54 feet. so that is just really, really incredible. and as a storm continues to get closer to the u.s., we'll watch these waves build over the weekend. and what those waves are going to do are create some very strong rip currents. now, what is a rip current? you probably heard it called a rip tide before, they're called rip currents because it has nothing to do with the moon. you can see as the winds blow over the water here, what's is that it all begins to build up in this area and the force of that water in that build-up becomes so strong that it gets pushed back away from the shore. this you can see right here, this is a sand bar and if you get any kind of a break in that sand bar, it allows that water to rush even faster away from the coastline and that's what people get caught up in and even an olympic swimmer can't outswim one of these things. what can you do about it? swim parallel to the shore until
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you get out of that current and make your way back towards the beach. really, really dangerous. this weekend if you want to see the waves, go ahead and head to the beach, don't get into the water. >> good advice there. you've got to check this out, jacqui, the indy 500 for tractors. this weekend is the national tractor pull in bowling green, ohio, where 60,000 people across the country are expected to watch the competition. rob, i'm taking it that they're probably not going to let you on one of those tractors, right? if they know what's good for you. >> not the big ones. i was on one of the baby tractors earlier today part of american morning. take a look at some of the big ones, these are mac daddies. this is the super stock division, 3,000 horsepower. per horsepower, single engine, and over here the unlimited one. a handful of lady drivers hoar, we've got ladies, men, teenagers, five engines on that
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puppy. same deal over here. from norman, oklahoma, by the way, the severe weather capital of the world. but this is severe horsepower. about 3,000 in each one of these five engines, you do the math, about three nascar engines in one. 15 nascars on top of that bad boy. what are they doing? trying to pull one of these. this is the sled they're trying to pull. and what they do is they have somebody who can drive one of these things, that necessarily wouldn't be me, but we're going to give it a go anyway. going to get on the front of this thing and we'll see what happens. i hope i have it in neutral. you ready to go there, chris? you crank one of these up and this is a smaller version. they won't let me on the big one. but what it does is basically gets going, and there's weight at the front of this. and as the tractors get going, it takes those waves and this
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one is 12,000 pounds and slowly slides that weight forward and that pushes the sled down on the ground. and starts driving that stuff down on the ground and make it harder and harder and harder until it actually doesn't go any longer. we'll put the brakes on. so the farther that you go, the better your score is. and they actually -- they actually measure it via a laser. what you're looking at right now, that's the track, they've been prepping that puppy all morning long. grating it, watering it down, grating, leveling it out, they've got two of them about 100 yards each, and by the time today's over, they're going to have two pristine tracks to be able to take tractors of all different sizes, 11 divisions, competitors from all over the country, 60,000 people will fill these stands like the roman coliseum cheering on their favorite tractor drivers. >> you are awfully geeked up
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about this competition. this is serious business there. >> bowling green, ohio. i wish we could stay all week long. >> i can tell. >> you can get an idea of how much puppy. >> i was saying you were a little geeked up about that power. i can feel the testosterone from here. and some of those tractors you were showing us, rob, it was something out of mad max, those engines were souped up. >> sorry, betty, i just lost you. i'm happy you are as excited as we are about those tractors. >> i here you. all right, rob, we will be checking in with you later. be safe out there because rob behind the wheel of heavy machinery can be dangerous. in the meantime, let's talk about this sad story right here, a swim suit model murdered. police say a reality show contestant is the prime suspect in the case. we have the latest. hey bets, can i borrow a quarter?
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all right, so a swimsuit model is murdered and now an arrest warrant has been issued for her ex-husband. the body of 28-year-old jasmine fiore was found in a suitcase behind an apartment complex.
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she was seen just a week ago in san diego at a poker game with her ex-husband ryan alexander jenkins who is, in fact, a reality tv contestant. he has been charged with fiore's death and police in the u.s. and canada are searching for him. >> ryan jenkins is an animal. what he has done to jasmine is unspeakable. it's just not right. i appreciate your help. understand who you're helping. we ask for your support to ryan to custody. >> she didn't tell me that she married him. she told me the day that they met, which was st. patrick's day. she called me the day after and said, mommy, i met the most perfect guy in the world and his name is ryan. and she just went on and on and
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on about ryan and how perfect he was and that was all i knew. >> well, jenkins and fiore had been married a few weeks before getting the union anulled. jenkins is from calgary and appeared on "megan wants a millionaire." meantime a lot going on in the next hour of the "cnn newsroom" and our correspondents are all in place to bring it to you. let's check in first with stephanie elum. >> yes, the end of the road for cash for clunkers. the popular program shuts down on monday. what you need to know so you don't miss out. that's coming up at the top of the hour. >> i'm susan lisovicz at the new york stock exchange where traders are seeing blue despite a fourth straight day of gains. in the exchange's history traders are wearing jeans. i'll be down on the floor for this first and only casual friday. i'm cnn meteorologist jacqui
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jeras, hurricane bill may not be making a run for the u.s., but we will feel its impacts anyway. find out what it can do the coastline and we'll look at incredible video coming out of canada. >> thank you, ladies. we'll take you right to the heart of the cash for clunkers program, in fact. a big hit with customers, but what about the dealers? there are some concerns. there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested.
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homeless sex offenders is a growing problem, especially in california where the number of sex offenders on the street has sky rocketed in recent years and some attribute that to offenders of living within a mile and a half of schools and parks. >> keep them off the streets so they dent up around schools and parks and homeless. >> it won't be so different if they're in their place. sex offenders y don't want them around period. homeless not the issue, i think. the issue is the sex offenders. >> all right, so, let's take a look at how huge this problem has actually become. in the year 2000, there are about 2,000 homeless sex offenders in california. today, there is 4,495, more than
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double the amount. here's some news that is happening right now, attorney for casey anthony are in court at this hour. she is the florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee. the defense wants to force the head of a search and rescue group to testify at trial and they're hoping to use a testimony to show anthony couldn't have disposed of caylee's body because she was in jail. the defense also wants anthony's bondsman barred from testifying about what she told them about the case. a judge in pensacola, florida, expected to decide today about whether to release surveillance video of a brutal crime. byrd and melanie billings were shot to death in a home invasion last month. nine of their adopted special needs children were in the house at the time of those killings and an extensive camera system caught some of the crime images. an attorney for the family is very concerned about those pictures being made public. eight suspects are under arrest. tests they are being run to determine if a racing champion
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is a woman or a man. 18-year-old caster semenya of south africa won the woman's 800-meter and she crushed her rivals and then finished the race just over 1:55, the best time in the world this year. well, some insist that she is a female, but her speed and muscular built prompted officials to call her in for some chrome zone tests and other exams. >> this has been a very successful program, okay. dealers have sold cars like they haven't sold them in quite some time. manufacturers are producing cars, like they haven't in quite some time and workers have been hired, again, to make those cars to replace that inventory like they haven't in quite some time. this is, without a doubt, an unqualified success.
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>> you heard it, the program was good for carmakers and dealers and all good things must come to an end and this one end on monday. with the money running out they're pulling out on the cash for clunkers program. what do you need to know about it? we'll take you to the source. stephanie elam has the breakdown from the new york area and time is running out, so, if you want to get in on the action, what should you do? >> this is a big one for people thinking about whether or not this is right for them. if you have a gas guzzler time is running out to get cash for that clunker. shut down the $3 billion program on monday because it's almost out of money. auto dealers have to submit all their paperwork by 8:00 p.m. eastern on monday to get back vouchers for $4,500 and some will stop offering the deals on sunday to make sure they can get their paperwork done. so far 4,050 clunker deals have been recorded.
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>> so, we're seeing a huge rush this weekend. do you expect people to run out because they know that that deadline is banking. >> one tells us he's planning a big advertising push as he doesn't want to leave any dollars on the side lnz, but as you already know, a lot of dealers have been frustrated. in new york, hundred pulled out of the program altogether and they said the government was taking too long to pay them back for these vouchers and the transportation department is adding more workers to speed up reimbursements but for some dealers they thought it was too big of a gamble. >> for those who still want to take advantage of this program, specifically, stephanie, what should they look for? >> some things people need to be aware of. some customers are asked to sign a form you'll pay back the voucher money in case the government voucher money doesn't come through. some dealers are waask to wait take the car home until the
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paperwork is approved. that is not allowed. remember, to qualify, your old car has to get 18 miles a gallon or less and can't be more than 25 years old and need to have owned it for at least a year. those are the rules, betty. got to get out there this weekend. >> absolutely, time is running out and knowledge is power. thank you so much, stephanie, do appreciate it. what kind of deal has cash for clunkers been for the dealers? we're going to be talking to one of them in just a few minutes. meantime, though, we want to know what you think of cash for clunkers. go to our blog cnn.com/betty for today or find me on twitter and facebook at bettynguyen/cnn. in the meantime, though, a stunning new charge from inside the bush white house. listen to this, former homeland security chief tom ridge says bush cabinet members pressured him to raise the nation's terror alert level. in a new memoir the pressure came just before the 2004
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presidential election. ridge says he and others objected to the arguments and the alert was not raised. the former security adviser denies these claims and says politics never played a role in the debate. tom ridge knew very well that i agreed with him that i didn't believe there was a basis to raise a threat level, but i knew there were others in the homeland security council that did believe that and we agreed we would have the conversation. by the way, what tom ridge's book doesn't say is the most eloquent case for not raising the threat level was not made by tom, in fact, it was made by secretary of state at the time, colin powell and bob mueller at great personal risk, remember his boss was advocating to raise it based on the facts of the intelligence. bob mueller himself made an eloquent case not to raise it. >> ridge says his belief that politics fueled the debate helped convince him to resign from his post. so far no health care measure has been debated in the
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full house or senate. still taking shape in committees but we do want to give you a quick comparison of legislation being considered. here's how it breaks down. the house, the proposed bill there. consumers could choose among an array of health consumer plans including the public option or government-run program. the plan would mandate legal residents to obtain health insurance. it requires companies to provide health coverage for workers or pay into a federal fund to provide health coverage. some companies with small payrolls could be exempt. take you to the senate now. a bipartisan group in the finance committee is considering a bill that is expected to include this. no government-run option, but it may include proposals for private, non-profit co-ops where individuals without coverage could join. the bill will not include mandates but a penalty for businesses that do not offer coverage. health care reform and illegal immigration, both topics stir passionate debate and one of the angriest claims of health
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care reform components is that millions of illegal immigrants will be covered at taxpayer expense. that is not true under the obama plan and that reality fuels yet another debate. cnn's cheryl jackson explains. >> of course, all illegal immigrants are not hispanic, but they do make up the largest illegal population. like most in society, the hispanic community is divided over whether or not they should be considered in health care reform. divided, they say, over the costs thought are not always calculated in dollars and cents. >> it's not as easy as everyone thinks it is. you need groups like this. >> cassandra is a recovering drug addict she is getting treatment in chicago. most of the patients here are hispanic and don't have any insurance. >> you don't have the money when you come out of it to pay for these services. >> reporter: marco runs the mental health center. >> this is the messy room. >> reporter: at the family
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health center he sees dozens of patients every day. he doesn't know who is legal or who is not. he says he looks into their eyes and not into their background. >> i just take care of the person in front of me who comes to me for help. >> reporter: 84% of the patients here are hispanic and 40% are uninsured and now no one here is asked about their immigration status, they're treated regardless of their status and their ability to pay. castillo is on one side of the debate of the illegal health ca care. >> before we start worrying about undocumented immigrants, we have to worry about the citizens here today. >> reporter: luis supports obama's health care provision and thinks those in the country illegally should not benefit. when life or death is an issue -- there is a solution. >> we do have laws that we don't allow people to die on our streets. >> reporter: this activist says everyone, regardless of status should get treatment for
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diseases. >> like h1n1, we need to consider everybody. >> reporter: senior who is now drug free says any type of medical treatment for the uninsured benefits everyone. >> you have people out there who are stealing, you have people out there who are robbing. you have people out there who are committing all sorts of crimes to try to feed their addiction and the society is paying for it, whether they realize it or not. >> reporter: obama says he would like to include the children of illegal immigrants and health care reform because they'll play on the same playgrounds and going to school with other children. there are several hundred thousand children in this country illegally. >> cheryl jackson reporting there. according to the latest census figures, some 6 million uninsured adults are illegal immigrants. if you want to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect you and your family, check out our special health care in america section at cnn.com. you can get the latest from town hall debates, fact checks and
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i-report and other health care news. just go to cnn.com/healthcare. all right. a lot of folks getting excited about the weekend, but for some you may not want to head out to the beach. jackie jersis watching that for us. >> hey, go to the beach if you want to go to the beach and see the big waves, just don't get in the water. that's the big thing we're worried about. it has to do with hurricane bill. winds 115 miles per hour and you can see that it has been weakening a little bit as it moves west, northwesterly. we'll show you that track and it will show you that we're expecting it to curve away from the u.s. and head up towards the canadian maritimes but it is going to be making a close approach and bringing in some huge swells. so, some very big waves pushing into the coast and we do have a very high threat of seeing some rip currents and rip currents are just fast channels of water that will pull you away from the
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coast. some things that you can do, by the way, if you do get caught in one of these and you take that risk and you decide you want to swim, don't fight that current. even an olympic swimmer can't outswim this thing. you want to try to swim away from it and get, you know, swim parallel to the shore and then make your way back to the beach. if you can't escape, wait for somebody to rescue you. you know, 80% of all beach rescues, by the way, are by people getting caught in these rip currents. now, some amazing video. if you haven't seen this, this is just in from our affiliate in canada. there you can see, this is a tornado in ontario. there you can see that funnel and all of the debris just swirling around a transformer exploding there. this was in the woodbridge area. at least three tornadoes reported across the area and hundreds of homes were damaged and one person killed and three others injured and also a lot of
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damage in the city of vahn, as well. just amazing pictures coming there out of ontario. now, we have the threat of severe weather here in the u.s. today. right now, just some moderate rain shower s here across the northeastern quarter and so hot and so sticky as that cold front approaches and we could see isolated, severe weather but in exchange this whole trough or this whole front pulling in will steer bill away from the u.s. it's kind of a little tradeoff, so to speak. much cooler weather across the nation's midsection for today. if you are trying to travel, you will have trouble. dallas ft. worth, those delays getting a little shorter there. we also have some delays in philadelphia and watch these to spread throughout the northeastern quarter throughout the day. >> pack some patience as you head to the airport today. want to tell you about this just in to the newsroom. the national association of realtors is reporting the largest monthly increase in home sales in ten years.
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july surging more than 7%. experts say it appears the first time that buyers are rushing to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall. again, this report just being released. july home sales up more than 7%. susan lisovicz will have more from wall street in just a few minutes. so, did u.s. combat troops leave iraqi cities too soon? american military trainer explains one danger that could lie ahead for iraqi forces. and vitamin d... witm to support bone and breast health... while helping you hydrate. one a day women's 2o. refreshingly healthy.
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a week of deadly bombings continues in baghdad. at least two people were killed in one market bombing today. the site has been repeatedly hit in recent months. a series of attacks on wednesday killed at least 100 people and wounded more than 500. there were six blasts in 60 minutes wednesday. last night, five bombings struck baghdad streets in just an hour. well, both iraqis and a top u.s. military commander are criticizing iraqi security in the wake of wednesday's bombings. cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence has that story. >> reporter: the families of baghdad's bombing victims came to collect their remains thursday after the deadliest day of coordinated attacks all year. now, iraqis are blaming their own.
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"we warn the security forces not to be lax, but those troops didn't carry out their duties." the american commander in charge of training those iraqi forces admitted -- >> there was a lapse of security. >> reporter: the bombs killed more than 100 people. the americans are only minutes away, but must wait until iraqis asked for help, which may not come until well after. >> did request some intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and we provided that. they've also requested some medical assistance, which we provided, as well. >> reporter: some blame prime minister neury al maliki for pushing out the americans out too soon. >> i'm the guy that freed you from the bond of american occupation. >> reporter: wesley gray spent more than 200 days living with and mentoring iraqi forces. he says they can do basic patrols and combat missions, but could fracture if religious tensions rise.
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gray says al maliki's strategy gives good reason to make his security forces look ineffective. >> sunni groups have huge incentives to force him to go crawling back to americans to say, look, this guy is weak and he couldn't do it. >> reporter: the u.s. commander has proposed that american troops do get more directly involved. not in baghdad, but up north, the tension between arabs and curds is rising there and they feel that putting american troops on patrol with them will help those two groups develop some trust with each other. chris lawrence, cnn, the pentagon. counting all the ballots in afghanistan is going to take a few more days and areas outside of kabul, though, election workers are dealing with spotty communications and very little electricity. they're counting ballots by hand and on top of that, talbnts militants have declared war on the election. afghan officials say 26 people were killed yesterday as millions braved their ways to the polls.
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>> afghan people did rockets, bomb bombs and came out. we see what the turnout was. >> president karzai is eyeing a second term, but a runoff is possible. afghan election officials say we could know the first preliminary results by tuesday. well, doctors' salaries, how do they play into health care reform plans? we're talking to an expert who has a unique perspective on this debate. he's a doctor and a ceo. (announcer) the brands you love cost less at walmart. and people love fruit of the loom underwear. ♪ i love the nightlife get all the latest colors and styles at an unbeatable price. save money. live better.
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all right. you have to hear this story. in oklahoma city, prosecutors unveil a shocking case. yesterday an indictment was unsealed against eugene and his wife, anna, the former director of a child advocacy group called casa it helped abused and neglected children. but the couple stole about $500,000 from the agency and spent it on such things as plastic surgery and trips. prosecutors say the couple hid their spending sprees by having the credit card statements sent to their home and not the office. well, august is possibly a make or break month for health care reform and all month we have been talking to different people, directly involve would the issue. we heard from ceos at free clinics, doctors, lawmakers. joining us today to talk about how doctors fees and salaries play into all this reform. the ceo of johns hopkins medicine, that being dr. edward miller. thank you for being with us today. >> thank you very much. >> well, tell us about johns
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hopkins. a unique plan there and how you're paying your physicians. talk to us about why you're doing it and why it's lowering the cost of health care for some patients. >> we pay our physicians a salary. our salaries are competitive, we try to make sure that we have a full range of services from primary care all the way through gerantology. the problem that we see, of course, they still pay us on a fee for service basis and not pay us for the care of the quality of a population. >> that being the case, with insurance companies paying on a fee for service plan, does that realny tice other doctors and other hospitals where they feel maybe they're not making as much money? >> well, i think right now that's the way the system works. i believe that if you look at the system overall, fee for service is not a way to take care of the population. really, what we're interested in is caring for a population of
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peop people, trying to keep those people healthy and well. and paying for a fee for service, you'll just do more and more procedures. >> but doctors may complain and say, look, i can go else where and make a lot more money and treat people. how is your plan, the salary-based plan compensating them? is it compensating them maybe as equally as another hospital on a fee for service plan? >> i think it is. as we look across the country as various academic health care centers. our salaries can competitive and we don't lose people because of salary differentials. there is also a lot of trying to care for a significant number of people that are uninsured, as well. that come into our system and we care for them. there's a certain degree of satisfaction that goes with that, as well. >> why did your hospital choose a salary plan? what was the reasoning behind that? >> goes way back to the early foundations of john hopkins in the early 1900s when the discussion was, should we be in private practices or salaried and we decided it was important
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for an academic health care center not only to take care of patients, but also to do research and teaching and that's where the salary piece came from. >> is it even feasible as we look at this reform to have other hospitals do that, as you well pointed out, the insurance companies pay on a fee for service plan. don't you think you have to change the way the way the insurance paid, as well? >> if insurance paid for health and wellness, we could do that. you could do that if you pay a premium per member per month. >> any other concerns or maybe advantages you see with this reform that are either good ideas or just really bad ones that shouldn't even be considered? >> well, i think one of the issues of trying to level the cost across the country. the cost of delivering care in minnesota or grand junction is not going to be the same as delivering the cost in new york city, baltimore or washington. >> that's a good point. dr. eduard miller, we do
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appreciate your time and insight today. thank you. >> thank you. if you want to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect you and your family, check out our special health care in america section at cnn.com. get the latest from town hall debates, fact checks, i-reports and other health care news. just go to cnn.com/healthcare. all right, as shoppers head into the final weekend of the cash for clunkers program, auto dealers wait for reimbursement from uncle sam. some of them haven't even received a dime. we'll hear from one dealer who said he sold 900 cars in the rebate program and the government only paid him for three. bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better,
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program. the popular rebate program will end monday night. not soon enough for some auto dealers, though. they complain that the government has been slow to reimburse them. joining me, vince shehe and, vince, you know, i was just talking to you during the break and we said you sold 900 cars so far under this program and then paid for three and you got approval for eight and why haven't you gotten your money back, your reimbursements? >> huge organizational issues and i think the program started with the program was rolled out on july 1 and the rules weren't written until july 24th. they were playing catch up when 24 days worth of deals hit the system and they just never had a chance to get organized and for whatever reason they've been unable to get organized, even as we sit here today. >> in the meantime, you're owed some $4 million. have you been in contact with the government? what are you hearing from them? >> very hard to touch base with the government. we have our people with
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questions that we could be on hold for several hours before we get a response. so, we're hearing very little. we had a few claims that had been rejected. most just say under review and have been under review for two and three weeks. >> really. meantime, while these are under review, those buyers have taken off with the car, they're driving it right now and say it does get rejected officially, you're stuck with a vehicle that's been driven. >> if we have a lot of claims that end up being rejected and we don't get paid for, that's going to be a mess. i'm still optimistic it will get resolved, but at this point we could have vehicles with a lot of miles on them that we have to work out some kind of alternate resolution. >> the tradeoff is you have got an lot of business because of this program, no doubt, right? >> this has been huge. clearly part of the program here is the success is beyond's people expectations. i think that we're closing in on probably close to that 750,000 vehicle number that used up the entire $3 billion.
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that has been beyond my expectations every step of the way on the program. >> despite the fact that you're still owed $4 million from the government and reimbursement, you would still call this program a success? >> the program is a wild success and certainly the most obvious form of stimulus that we've seen out of the government this year. the organizational issues should have been, should have been resolved, should have been easier to handle and should not go against the benefits of the stimulus program. >> are you afraid at all that even if these buyers are approved you get reimbursed, are these buyers ready for that kind of investment? or are they just joining the band wagon because they think they are going to get a rebate and maybe a car will cost a little bit less. but these could be the same people that got in financial trouble and a lot of us are watching these recessions and how people have gotten behind on the bills. are you worried about that?
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>> that is a great question. we thought we'd have a lot of marginal customers coming in on this program. in fact, it's the exact opposite. these are mostly high-quality customers who simply have held on to their cars for a long time. so, that coupled with the fact that the banks are all much tighter on their credit approvals. they're not loaning money to people who they don't think can pay them back. i don't think that is an issue with this program. >> time is running out, are you continuing it through the weekend because the deadline is on monday. >> deadline is monday and we'll roll right through saturday night and get in this weekend because it's all over monday, but monday is just going to be a paperwork day for us. >> make sure you get that paperwork in because some people may be rejected. take another couple weeks to figure that out. >> good luck to you, vince, i hope you get the $4 million. thanks for spending a little time with us today. >> thanks very much. on the blogs this morning. we have been asking you today, what do you think of the cash for clunkers program? is it a success and should it
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have started in the first place? >> let's go to our newsroom blog right now, paul says i think this is the most effective use of stimulus money to date, although i think the funding should be continued for at least another 45 days and another similar effort implemented in the housing industry. some people have taken fact with the issue that it is just one industry. j.r. walker says i have for four years driven economical, i couldn't get that out, economical autos. now, i'm asked to pay tax for those who have not been responsible. so, not very happy with that one. let's go to my facebook page and see what people are saying there. good program but the dealers are not being paid. we just heard one of those dealers and then on twitter very quickly, glen says it was a very bad idea. they should not allow that to happen again and only focus on one industry and we're getting some complaints about that. as you heard from vince sheehy an owner of an auto dealership,
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hey, it's been a huge success and wild success and now just a matter of getting the paperwork back and reimbursement back. of course, more questions for you next week. in the meantime, though, big news on the nation's housing crisises. just minutes ago, we learned that existing home sales in july posted the largest monthly increase in the last ten years. much of the credit is being given to first time home buyers taking advantage of a temporary tax credit. aight monthly increase and hopes that the crisis may be loosening its grip. people may be buying houses, but cash-strapped americans are staying away from nonessential items. new numbers from one of the nation's biggest retailers says that trend is a problem. susan lisovicz is on the floor of the new york stock ecchange with details on gas. >> it is the nation's biggest specialty retailer because not only the powerhouse behind the gap, but also old navy and
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banana republic. and like retailers from all different spaces whether it's luxury or discounts, it's having problems making sales. gap saw its quarterly sales drop 8%. it had trouble, let's be clear about this, even before the recession hit. that actually helped because gap was clearing, reducing its inventory so it wouldn't have to mark it down as drastically as some of its competitors. but gap is also reducing its overall sides, cutting down on the number of stores. gap, despite cost cutting efforts saw it decline but not as much as sales and that's another common theme that we have seen with retailers. gap shares are actually up 3%, but then, again, so is the overall market, betty, with the great numbers we got from the housing market at the top of the hour. betty? >> retailers including gap are really being creative and trying to connect with customers, i guess they have to in this day in time. >> no question about it. that's why gap embarked on a very big and unusual promotional
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campaign. bobby, let's show our viewers what's happening here. for the first time in the nyse history, we have a casual friday. traders are allowed to wear blue jeans, specifically gap with skipping out its promotional 1969 jean, which retails, well, at $69. about 1,200 tradeards took them up on the offer. so, that's about $84,000 if you do the math, betty. this is the first time ever in 200 years that we have a casual friday here. gap is a listed member, so, this is something that nyse will do occasionally and, you know, it's going down sort of like free beer. a lot of them took it up. and i should say it's kind of a joy for reporters, too, bobby. i have my own jeans on today. >> these aren't gap, though,
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right? >> no, they're not. but it's just a luxury not to wear the typical pinstriped suit and i think that's what a lot of the traders here are also embracing. very, very conservative. i'm looking through the years at the nyse dress code and it says from the 1890s that bowler hats were allowed on the trading floor. just as an example. the standard here, never a casual work day ever. it's dress slacks, button down shirts and a jacket. >> always required. so, let me ask you, is this an every friday kind of thing for you, susan? you're going to be in your jeans? >> no. no. betty, i felt like i did in catholic school when one day a year you could wear something other than the uniform because you had your picture taken and that was just the greatest day. >> going out on a limb. >> the greatest day in the school year. not wearing the uniform. >> well, enjoy it while it lasts and i guess we're enjoying the
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numbers now, too. the dow up 141 points. susan, take care. see you later. right now a real-life drama for a reality tv show contestant. he is the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, a swimsuit model. the all-out search to find him, next. geico's been saving people money on car insurance for over 70 years. and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly?
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a swimsuit model is murdered and now an arrest warrant is issued for her ex-husband who is a reality tv contestant. jasmine fiore's mysterious death is raising lots of questions. >> reporter: early saturday morning a man looking for a trash bin for recycleables find a small, unzipped suitcase.
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>> it was partially oepened and i lifted it up one time and saw skin and i wasn't sure and i lifted it up again when i saw the marks on the body and everything that verified it was a body and immediately called 911. >> reporter: the body was jasmine fiore. >> our preliminary results and findings were that she was strangled. >> reporter: police are now looking for this man. ryan jenkins who was briefly married to fiore. they were last seen on friday night at a poker game in san diego, about 100 miles south of where her body was discovered saturday morning. on saturday night, jenkins filed a missing person's report for fiore. he hasn't been heard from since. >> our fear is that he may possibly be en route to canada. he was the last person seen with her. >> reporter: jenkins most recently a contestant on the vh-1 "megan wants to be a
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millionai millionaire" is an investment banker from canada. he is driving a bmw like this one with alberta license plate hly 27 5 or may be in jasmine fiore's white mercedes. >> she was friendly and just a shocker. >> reporter: a former model at the modalagency said fiore seemed to have her head on straight. >> she was very responsible and very driven and focused on just wanting to do, getting into the business but not, you know, was. enamored by it. railroad henderson says the last time he saw her she looked really happy and mentioned she had this great guy. the question tonight, whether that great guy may know something about how jasmine fiore died. erica hill, cnn, new york. in other news, attorneys for casey anthony are back in court
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this morning. want to give you a live picture there. you see casey anthony sitting in court. this is in orlando. she is the florida woman accuse of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. the defense wants to force the head of a search and rescue group to testify at trial. they're hoping to use the testimony to show anthony couldn't have disposed of caylee's body because she was in jail. the defense also wants anthony' bondsman barred from what she told them about the case. has the recession forced you to drop summer vacation plans? don't give up just yet. we'll tell you about some good deals for a late summer get away.
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all right. so, you're tired of those staycations and wanting to get away for labor day. there may be some really good deals out there for a late summer get away. for that, let's go to nicole call wnz the scoop. a lot of people listening very closely right now. >> yeah, good morning, betty. that's right, labor day is just a little more than two weeks away, it is not too late and it may not be too expensive for people. travel experts say deals are everywhere you look and they may pop up where and when you least expect. labor day is fast approaching and tempting last-minute vacation opportunities. experts say travelers can take advantage of new holiday deals being posted every day, every hour. >> if they dd ded is today or they decide next friday that they want to get away for labor
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day weekend, they'll be able to find a place within their budget. >> reporter: how about mexico, hawaii, vegas or london? these destinations provide great discounts on hotels and plane tickets. according to triple-a, domestic airfares across the board are 17% lower than last year. >> probably expect to see a somewhat softer labor day than a year ago. >> reporter: that means the travel industry is eager for business. >> this year they recognize that if they don't give you a good deal, they're not going to fill their rooms. so, the consumeser really in the driver's seat. >> reporter: experts say be flexible. think less on where you want to go and more on getting a good deal. don't overlook four and five-star hotels some are cheaper than usual right now. book package deals which are sometimes less expensive than airfare alone and check websites daily. >> united airlines launched a labor day sale, a lot of airlines have matched that. but we may see the regular weekend fares pop up, too, for
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labor day. >> reporter: that means check back the wednesday before labor day and see if airlines decide to offer regular weekend rates because of low ticket sales. road trips also a good idea for labor day weekend. aaa says gas prices will be down $1.10 from last year, betty. >> very quickly. what are the deals and what destinations are they for? >> mexico is great right now, swine flu put a damper on their tourism industry and hawaii very good, especially from west coast destination and if you look at some specific airlines offering great deals. southwest as low as $59 one way and we saw an american airline one way between new york and los angeles, $109, betty. >> that is fabulous. i have to book some trips. thank you so much for that. appreciate it. let's take you now to jacqui jeras, if you are thinking about booking a trip, you want to figure out where the stormy weather is and she is watching all that. hey, jacqui? >> one of the last weekend of summer, people want to get out there and hit the beach and have
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the last hurrah and weather is not going to be too great for two reasons. cold front moving through bringing great weather across the east and, number two, a very high level of rip currents. the 11:00 eastern time advisory is in a little bit early. this is new information on the latest for bill. you can see those winds, 115 miles per hour and it's holding steady and has a very strong category 3 storm and you can see that direction moving northwest at 18 miles per hour. so, we are seeing more of that northerly pull continuing to take shape. here's the updated track and this looks very much the same. you can see it is staying very strong as a category 3 storm and then curving away, that closest approach up around the cape is going to be on sunday and it could even last into early monday morning. now, how is this going to be impacting you? well, we will see some very big surfs and these are the breaker waves we're talking about. you're not going to see 15 to 20-foot waves on the beach but you'll see them out there.
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what that will do is increase the threat of rip currents and that means you could get caught out there in that water, that fast channel of water that moves you away from the coastline. want to show you new video that just got in of severe weather across the midwest yesterday. pull this thing up, look at that, those are monster hail stones. this was in kansas. two to four inch hail and that is as big as softballs, my friend. you certainly don't want to be outside caught in that. it could knock you unconscious. no idea how bad the crop damage is yet because of that. we do have thunderstorms from that front along the east coast. there you can see the showers and thundershowers rolling in. nothing severe right now, but some storms severe later on and that includes you in d.c. on up towards the boston area and all through new england. we'll continue to watch that. you asked me about travel, betty. not so great because of these storms today, but that will last you the weekend and a sampling of some of the delays we have
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from minneapolis to atlanta. >> i was delayed last night coming into atlanta. jacqui, thank you so much. coming up tomorrow right here on cnn, i will be talking about health care. a special at 9:00 a.m. with the best of the town hall discussions. you don't want to miss that. plus president obama and family head to martha's vineyard for vacation. how the town is preparing for that. my co-anchor t.j. holmes interviews chris rock and nina long. they have a new movie coming out called "good hair." tomorrow morning 6:00 a.m. to noon. we hope you're there. a house of mirrors and three days of brutal torture. we're going to tell you about an arrest that has shocked even crime hardened police officers.
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in phoenix, arizona, police say they had solved a gruesome crime. a man is tortured for days, dismemberred and a woman makes a shocking confession. >> reporter: it's a look inside the apartment where police say she was mutilated and tortured for three days, all at the hands of 33-year-old angela simpson, then his body dpumped inside this trash can and set on fire. did you know angela? >> i have known her for a long time. >> reporter: did you know she could do something like this? >> never. >> reporter: bill rainwater is
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the apartment manager. just point to us, show us where it happened. he showed us the door where a witness spotted his wheelchair days after police found his body. so we took a look inside and found the place a wreck, there was bleach on the countertop. police have been all throughout this abandoned apartment looking for fingerprints and we found this garbage back here with ashes all around it. she may have tried to burn the body here. that was after simpson nailed a three inch hammer into his brain and stabbed him up to 50 times and beat him over the head with a tire iron. we told him to watch through a mirror and dismembered him and sliced his throat. she admitted it. >> she wanted a candy bar and then told us what happened. >> reporter: the victim would drive his motorized wheelchair through the neighborhood and
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investigators thought simpson was a snitch. she thought he was one? she allegedly lured him inside with sex and then after three days of torture borrowed rainwater's car and dumped the body. >> i know she wasn't taking her meds like she was supposed to. >> reporter: what kind of meds? >> psyche meds. >> that story is so disturbing. coming to us from marissa windgate in phoenix. well, from that, to this. a horrifying medical mistake in west palm beach, florida. a baby was born two months early brain damage after the mother was accidentally given a drug to induce labor instead of medication to stop premature labor. the family's lawyers said it scribbled an unclear order and the hospital admits a mistake was made and steps are taken to
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ensure it won't happen again. well, the family is suing the hospital. several doctors, nurses and pharmacists. >> this is the worst case that i've seen in my 34 years of practice. and, in fact, i believe it calls for a criminal investigation. >> the family says medical bills for their injured baby topped $3.5 million. all right, let's get you a little bit of good news, shall we? a georgia couple has oep oened their hearts to provide a home for more than 20 special needs kids. now, others have opened their wall toots help provide the family with a new house. the murphy family's previous home just got to be too small and had too many problems so the keenan kids foundation led a campaign to move the murphies into a new 7,000 square foot home. >> my heart is filled with joy. i'm overwhelmed. i just can't believe it. people say to me, when are you going to stop adopting? en

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